Happy Hikago Day!
I was planning to post this on Friday or Saturday, but then I suddenly realized it's May (like, how?) and that means that Hikago day, May 5, is here! So of course I had to post this now. I've also decided that in this fic Sai's birthday is 5.5. and it happens during this chapter so… perfect timing or what?
…but I really got kind of nostalgic now. I miss the active days of this fandom… all those let's five games, and Blind Go above all. Good times.
Anyways, on with the fic! Thank you for reading and the comments! This chapter will answer to the question "what will Hikaru do"? ^^
Chapter 3
When school started again after the summer break, Sai's life suddenly became quite busy. Between the go club and the study group, not to mention his meetings with his friends, he suddenly realized that he really had to work to make room for studying. Luckily he was good at school and it didn't take him long to finish homework, but he wanted to be sure his grades wouldn't suffer, so that his parents wouldn't have a reason to complain. So he studied diligently every moment he could. Hikaru rolled his eyes at him as he sat in the park, reading, and snorted loudly when Akari pointed out that studying more wouldn't hurt him either, but Sai didn't let that bother him.
One day in early autumn, when everyone else in the study group had already left, Akira and Sai were still discussing their game and the Meijin came to watch them. The boys didn't notice him right away, being so immersed in their discussion. When they did notice him sitting next to them they paused, looking up at him, startled.
"Don't let me disturb you," he said. Sai and Akira glanced at each other and then at the board.
"I think we were pretty much done, father," Akira said. "Did everyone else leave already?"
The tiniest smile tugged his father's lips. "Indeed. They did say goodbye to you, but I don't think you noticed."
"That was rude of us," Sai said, worried. "I hope they weren't offended."
"Mainly amused," the Meijin said with a wave of his hand. "But I was wondering – in the case you really are done, and if you're not in a great hurry to go home… would you play a game with me?"
"Yes!" Sai exclaimed with wide eyes. He knew he should have already been on his way home, but he decided he could still stay a little longer. He'd call his parents when he'd leave and apologize for being late. There was no way he would pass this chance.
They played an even game, though with Sai playing black, without komi. That in itself was quite thrilling for him – but Akira said that this was how he played against his father, so Sai figured it had to be about right for him too. He gave a hesitating glance at his opponent. The man seemed like an unmovable boulder on the other side of the board. He would most likely be like that on the board too…
Sai couldn't help smiling. What a wonderful game this would be!
It was a game he lost, but still hardly one he could have been displeased with. And the Meijin wasn't displeased either, he was sure of that. The man was watching the board, shaking his head.
"I'd have never believed there'd be another child of my son's age who can play like this," he said. "I hope I didn't sound prideful there, but that's the truth." He nailed his gray gaze to Sai. "I understand that your parents are against you becoming professional?"
"Yes." The excitement of the game faded away just like that, leaving behind the cold reality. He swallowed. "I would very much like to, become a pro that is, but I don't think they'll ever change their minds".
He looked so miserable the Meijin couldn't stop a short, wry smile. "We'll see about that. Do you think they would come over for a dinner some day? This weekend, maybe?"
"I could ask! If you, if you really would do this…"
"Certainly." The Meijin lowered his gaze back to the board. "I cannot in good conscience not to do all I can to help a player like this to join our ranks."
Sai smiled at him, eyes watering. "Thank you, sensei!"
His parents didn't seem overly excited about the invitation, but they did accept it. Next Saturday the three of them entered the Touya residence. Sai didn't believe he had ever, even when he first came to join the study group, been so nervous in his life. He was afraid he wouldn't get a bite down, or if he did, wouldn't be able to keep it down. At least everything seemed to begin well enough, with everyone being polite, and his mother and Akira's soon found a common interest in growing bonsai trees.
Sai watched them nervously, desperately hoping they would become friends. He didn't really know Akira's mother, Touya Akiko, that well at all, having just seen her in passing a few times. She did appear to be just the kind of lady he figured his mother might like, though – stylish and fashionable, with very calm and collected personality. It would certainly help his cause a lot if she and his mother would get close.
They sat down for the dinner, and the adults continued talking of this and that: current political events, the recent earthquake in Hokkaido, the weather, of all things… but no one mentioned a word of go. It took all Sai had not to fidget on his chair, or just jump up and exclaim "so what about me?!" The dinner had to be very tasty, but if someone had asked him what they ate once they had left, he wouldn't have been able to tell.
Finally, when they had moved to desserts, Touya Kouyou took the subject up.
"I am very happy Akira met your son," he said. "He doesn't have many friends of his age, and certainly no one else who can challenge him on his own level in go. In fact, I had long hoped he would some day get a friend like this, but didn't quite think it possible."
"I have heard he is quite skilled," Sai's mother said. "Sai showed us an article about him in that go magazine."
Akira blushed a little. "They were… exaggerating," he muttered.
"I would not want to brag," the Meijin said, "but Akira truly stands out among his age group. And so does your son."
"It is peculiar he would be so good," Sai's mother said with a frown. "He hasn't even had a proper teacher ever, have you darling? There was that strange old man in Kyoto…"
"Strange old man?" Akira gave him a questioning look.
"Our neighbor," Sai explained. "Quite rich, and quite… eccentric. He loved go. He was quite good, too. I think he might have been good enough to become professional."
"I did think you had to have some kind of a teacher," Touya Kouyou said. "Skill is one thing, but one does need instruction too."
"It was very kind of you to take him into your study group," Sai's father said. "I hope he has not been a nuisance."
"Certainly not. In fact, we should be the ones thanking you for allowing him to join us. It has been a pleasure to everyone." He took a sip of his tea. "Everyone is eagerly waiting for him to become professional."
"Hm." Sai's father made a little sound, not quite clearing his throat, not quite humming. "He's been talking about it, too. But it is not quite the future we'd want for him. Studies should come first. He is too young to be a professional in anything yet."
The Meijin nodded. "I can understand your point. I remember when Akira was ten… people were already then eagerly asking if he was taking take the pro test. I think they just wanted him to become the youngest ever to pass the test. He asked me if he should to take it, and I told him to wait if he had the slightest doubt of being ready. Now, though he is still young, I know he is ready. I was myself just a year older, and I must say I've never felt I would have somehow suffered for turning professional at a young age."
"Perhaps, but still we feel he should at least wait till he's grown up and see if he is still interested."
"He's a world class player," Akira muttered, not quite able to hide the sharpness in his voice. "One doesn't lose that kind of interest."
Sai's mother laughed. "He's just thirteen," she said, amused. "How many people know at that age what they want to do the rest of their lives?"
"We do," Akira muttered even more quietly, and possibly went unheard by everyone else but Sai who was sitting next to him.
"I take it you don't play go?" Akira's mother asked. "I'm not a go-player either, and I can easily understand how strange this world of go would look like to an outsider. Nevertheless, I have learned to tell the real players from hobbyists. Having seen your son play, I can't imagine him doing anything else."
Sai blinked. When had she seen him playing? He had never noticed her anywhere close when the study group was meeting. Perhaps it had been during one of his games he had played with Akira when the meetings were over.
Sai's father shook his head. "No, I can't say so," he said, just replying to Akiko's question. "Board games have never held much interest for me." His tone was quite flat and impassive, and Sai's mother changed the subject, starting again to talk about the bonsai trees.
Sai gave Akira a downcast look. See? It won't be easy.
And the dinner ended as it had begun, politely, with everyone holding their old opinions. That wasn't in the least surprising, but it bothered Sai more than he would have expected. That's what you get, getting your hopes up like that, he told himself. Since when do you believe in miracles?
Next Sunday Sai gave in to Hikaru's whining and agreed to have a break from studying and go to the movies with him and Akari, hoping this would distract him from his gloomy thoughts. They ended up watching an action flick that most likely wasn't to Akari's taste any more than it was to Sai's, but somehow both of them let Hikaru choose the movie. Perhaps, if he had liked the movie better, it might have actually worked, but now he barely followed the (non-existent) plot as his mind dwelled on his thwarted hopes.
Afterward, as they were walking through the mall, Akari remembered she had been planning to buy some lip gloss. As the boys waited for her, an advertisement caught Sai's eye. He looked quickly away, so that Hikaru wouldn't notice him watching it, but couldn't help taking yet one careful glance over his shoulder.
That violet… he liked that shade of violet.
Akari returned to them and they went their way, Hikaru chatting happily about the movie and Akari rolling her eyes at his comments. When they parted, Sai paused, his mind still dwelling on the ad.
…he could just take a look. Why not? And say it was for his mother, if someone asked.
Hesitantly he returned to the mall and wandered to the lipsticks, and paused there to watch them in wonder. So many different colors!
"Hello, can I help you somehow?"
The voice behind his back made him start, and he turned to see a middle-aged sales assistant smiling at him.
"Uh, I…" he stuttered. "The lipsticks…"
"They've got some really lovely hues there, don't they?" she said cheerfully still smiling. "Have you seen something you like?"
Sai blinked, uncertain he had heard right. A short moment he hesitated, then he nodded. "I was… thinking about something like those…" he said, pointing at the violet shades.
"Ah, yes – they would look good on you. How about this one? Or if you prefer a little darker shade… how about this?"
Sai stared at two colors. He liked them both. Hesitantly he pointed at the lighter one.
"This one then. Anything else you'd want? A lip liner?"
He shook his head quickly, and they headed to the register. She rung the lipstick, and he paid it, still not quite understanding what was going on.
"Do you need a bag?" she asked. Then she tilted her head a little, smiling again. "Or would you like to try it on right away?"
"I… I could," Sai said in a sudden fit of courage. This whole situation was insane enough, so why not? What if it was weird – no one would ever know, and he needed something new, something different, anything to take his mind of… his parents and the go exam, which he suddenly realized he hadn't thought about for a while. So the lipstick was already working where the movie had failed.
He applied it carefully, with an uncertain hand, and smiled at his mirror image. Yes. The color was excellent.
"You look fabulous, dear," the sales assistant said. He smiled back at her, but suddenly the realization hit him.
She thinks I'm a girl.
He thanked her and left, but on the way out stopped to take a look at a full-length mirror. Probably it wasn't so strange she'd make such a mistake. His jeans and T-shirt really were quite gender-neutral, and with his features and long hair… He touched his hair, worn at the moment on a ponytail. It really did make him look quite girly. His mother wanted to cut it, but he wouldn't hear of it. He liked his hair.
Now, he gave his mirror image a thoughtful look. He tried to see himself through a stranger's eyes, someone's, who worked at a section where most customers were women. And yes, he could see it – a girl looking back at him. He stared at himself a long while, imagining himself now as a boy, now as a girl, and both fit.
"Is everything alright, dear?" Again a voice behind his back made him jump. He turned and saw an old woman who was watching him kindly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. But you had been standing there so long, so I was wondering…"
"I…I was just thinking," Sai muttered. "I'm fine, thanks." He hurried away, toward the store's bathrooms. At the bathroom doors he paused, hesitating, for a moment uncertain which he should use. Then he shook his head – what was he thinking – and rushed into the men's bathroom where he quickly washed the lipstick away.
At home, he took out his diary and wrote there, I bought a lipstick today. He paused, pen still on the paper, but couldn't find the words to continue. He buried the lipstick deep into a drawer, and decided not to think about it.
…
Winter arrived again, and the winter go tournament was approaching. Tsutsui was, naturally, excited about it, but Sai found himself troubled. He knew that as usual Akira wouldn't be taking part into the tournament, and he figured that most likely he shouldn't either. Still, it was different for Kaio; they had top-level players to choose from. On the other hand, also Haze go club had nowadays two other boys. Even Akari seemed to be getting together a girls' team.
"What if I wouldn't play in the tournament?" he said one day quietly to Tsutsui after the other club members had left. The older boy gave him a surprised look.
"What? Why wouldn't you? We could win again with you!"
"Maybe, but…" He fingered his hair, nervously. "Is it fair? I mean, you know even insei aren't allowed to play, and I think I'm their level, or above… and Touya's not going to play either, so…"
"I see." Tsutsui sighed, but smiled then. "Well, don't worry about it. I'm sure the others are happy to get to play. And it doesn't matter if we don't win. We've done it once."
Sai smiled at him, relieved.
The Haze go club won its first games in the tournament, but in the second round everyone lost against Kaio.
...
A couple of weeks after the tournament Hikaru rang the doorbell at the Fujiwara residence.
"It's good to see you again, Shindou-kun," Sai's mother said, receiving him in the hall.
"Thanks." Hikaru glanced around; no sign of Sai. "How is he?"
"Oh, better, thank you, but I don't think he'll be coming to school this week. It was really a nasty flu he caught."
"Yeah." Hikaru grinned, remembering the way Sai had looked when he had to leave home in the middle of the day, red nosed and eyed. "Too bad I didn't catch it too, would have missed the math test," he said before thinking and shot then a worried glance at Sai's mother, but she was only smiling at him.
"He is upstairs, in his room," she said. "Touya-kun is visiting him," she went on as Hikaru was about start heading up. He stopped and looked at her.
"Touya?"
"Yes, he arrived a little while ago. They're probably playing go." For some reason there was a slight frown on her face, but it faded away as she looked at him. "Well, no matter, I'm sure he is happy to see you."
Hikaru climbed upstairs, and sure enough, there were voices coming from Sai's room. He figured they probably weren't playing, as in his experience go players didn't talk that much during their games. Still the two were sitting by the go board on the floor, bent over it examining something closely.
"So what if he had played here?" Sai said, pointing at the board. As he looked up he saw Hikaru standing in the doorway and straightened his back, smiling.
"That might have…" Touya started to say, but realized then Sai's attention had divided.
"Hi!" Sai exclaimed with a big smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to see you. And bring you these." Hikaru took some papers out of his backpack and threw them to Sai. "Some handouts from class."
"Thanks." Sai flicked through the papers. "Hey, am I supposed to have two of these, or is the other one yours?" He gave one paper back to Hikaru, who gave it a glance and pushed it carelessly back into his backpack.
"So." He stood there, watching the board, and for a short moment his eyes glanced at Touya, who nodded his head at him a little. Hikaru looked away. "You're playing go," he said, and wanted to kick himself. Stating the obvious?
"Actually, we were replaying Kurata-sensei's latest game," Sai said. "It's really quite inspiring. It's a shame he didn't win."
"He pushed too much," Touya said. "Perhaps, if he had played as you suggested, here," he tapped the board, "it might have helped. A little. But then his opponent could have moved here…"
"True." Sai gave the board a thoughtful nod. "But even so, I think that move would have been better than what he did."
Touya nodded, agreeing. "And I think another mistake was letting the ko situation develop here. From there on it went downhill for him."
The two boys stared intently at the board, and Hikaru wondered if they'd even notice if he just left then. Instead he started going through all the things Sai had in his room, checking if there was anything new.
"Hey, what's this?" He grasped a brand new computer game, still in the plastic. "Can I play this?"
Sai glanced up from the board. "Sure… but not right now, okay?"
"Whatever." Hikaru put the game back on the shelf and went on. More games, some logic books, a book with optical illusions – he leafed through it shortly, and gave then the rest of the books a cursive glance.
A shelf-full of go books. Not overly surprising. He shook his head, watching them, and noticed the book Sai had won at the school festival. He took it out and took a look at it. Page after page nothing but pictures of the go board with stones randomly thrown on it. Where must white play to live? He snorted. Life and death problems? That almost made go sound serious.
He stared at one of the pictures a moment, trying to understand what was going on with it. He didn't even understand why white would be in danger of its "life".
"This stuff is utter bullshit," he finally muttered, shoving the book back into the shelf.
"Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it bullshit."
Hikaru raised his eyebrows. That was probably the longest sentence Touya had ever said to him, and the normally so composed boy sounded genuinely pissed off. And looked as well, he saw to his amusement as he turned to the other two. The glare Touya had aimed at him was almost scary. Almost.
"What, touched a nerve? Your loss if you don't see it. Sitting inside, totally focused on a piece of wood and a handful of stones – how's that not bullshit?"
"Hikaru," Sai said in a reproachful tone. He grimaced; he didn't want to offend Sai, really, but seriously. This stuff had been going on for long enough.
"I mean it! Why do you rather play that stupid game with this boring guy than come out to play with us? No wonder you're catching flues all the time! A sound mind in a sound body, you know." That was his father's favorite saying – usually it annoyed him but now it felt fitting.
"Mens sana in corpore sano, yes, we know," Touya muttered. "But you can hardly have a sounder mind than a go player's. I wouldn't be so sure of yours," he added under his breath.
"What, you saying I'm stupid or something?"
"Hikaru, please. Both of you." Sai was watching them pleadingly. "Please don't fight."
Hikaru and Touya stayed quiet a moment, eyes locked. Touya was the one to look away first. "I'm sorry," he said to Sai. "He just gets under my skin so badly. Sometimes I can't understand why you two are friends, you've got nothing in common."
"Much you know!" Hikaru exclaimed. "We've got plenty in common! We… we…" He couldn't think of anything. "And that doesn't matter, anyway! We are friends, and if you don't like it that's your problem! And that stupid game of yours, I'd learn it in a day if I wanted to, but why waste my time?"
Touya barked out a laugh. "You," he said with emphasis, "wouldn't learn go if you lived a thousand years."
"Why, you…" Hikaru started to shout, but a voice at the door cut him off.
"What is going on here?" Sai's mother stepped into the room. "Is everything aright?"
"Of course mother," Sai said hurriedly. "We were just… having a discussion."
"Sounded more like fighting to me. Please behave yourself. Sadao is still sick, you shouldn't wear him out with fights." For someone reason she was staring at Touya as she said this.
"Of course," Touya agreed with her. "I'm sorry, Fujiwara-san."
Hikaru stubbornly remained quiet.
"Well," Sai's mother said, "There are some snacks for you downstairs, if you want."
"Thank you mother." Sai stood up. "Shall we?"
"Of course." Touya stood too. "Thank you, ma'am, very kind of you."
Hikaru still remained quiet. Sai shot him a worried glance as they left the room. "Will you come too?"
"Whatever." He heaved out a sigh. "I guess." He went to pick up his backpack, but before he left the room after the others his eyes fell again on the bookshelf. He grasped again that silly life and death book. "Not in a thousand years, huh?" he muttered, and slipped the book into his backpack.
"I have to go home," he said downstairs. "Plenty of homework."
Sai probably didn't buy it. His mother looked disappointed. "Well, school comes first, doesn't it? I hope you'll come again soon, though, Shindou-kun. Always a pleasure to see you."
"Sure." Hikaru nodded his head and left.
At home he picked up the book. Now, how hard could it be?
After fifteen minutes he was still staring at that first problem. What the heck was he supposed to do there in the first place? He flipped to the back and checked the right answer.
Okay, so white should play there.
Why?
He stared at the white and black dots on the paper, and couldn't figure it out. Annoyed, he threw the book to the wall, but went then guiltily to check its condition. It was Sai's book, after all.
Maybe he should have taken something more basic. If Sai now had any basic go books…
He lay down on his bed, still annoyed. Where'd he get a basic go book? He wasn't going to waste any money on it, that was sure. His grandpa might have some, but he didn't want to ask. The old man would never leave him in peace if he showed any interest in go. So… library?
The school library had but one book on go, but that was enough. He checked carefully that no one noticed him taking it from the shelf – he didn't want to become the laughing stock of his classmates. In a quiet corner he started quickly to skim through the book. He did know the basic idea of go, capturing stones – or at least he had thought that was the basic idea. It seemed to be a bit more complicated.
He didn't spend long reading the book, but he caught at least the basics from it. There were also some simple life and death problems in the book, too. He took a quick look at them, and thought he had figured out how they worked. At home he again looked at that first problem and tried to figure out why the game played out as it did… but still he didn't get it. He sighed. Maybe he should borrow that book to read it properly at home? Annoying. How much time did he want to waste on this stuff? But having started, he didn't want to give up right away.
…
"It is time again for a medical check, darling," Sai's mother said one day. "I'll come to pick you up after school on Monday, so we can go to see the doctor together."
Sai nodded, not very eager. Not that their family doctor Akimoto wouldn't have been a nice man. In truth, Sai did like him better than their old doctor in Kyoto, but even so there was something in the idea of going to hospital that made his stomach cold and heavy. If someone had asked, he couldn't have told any reason behind his antipathy, and he did feel a little guilty about it – it wasn't like doctor Akimoto had done anything to earn his mistrust – and he hoped he managed to hide his feelings.
This time too everything proceeded as always before. They talked of weather and school and go, the doctor listened to his chest, checked how he was growing, took some blood tests. As he started pulling his clothes back on Sai was thinking about something he would have liked to ask, if just… He glanced at his mother, wishing she wasn't there. Maybe he should ask if he could come alone from now on…
He hesitated, opened his mouth, shut it again. "Mmmm…"
The doctor glanced at him from his papers. "Yes? Is something on your mind?"
"I, no… that is…" he glanced at his mother again. "So… everything's okay?" The doctor nodded. "Everything? That is, am I, is it totally normal… to be so small? I mean… that." He was blushing quite strongly, and really wished his mother out of the room. "I've noticed that… all other boys… have bigger," he muttered yet, barely audibly.
"There is nothing you should worry about, Sadao-kun," the doctor assured him with a smile. "You're just developing a bit slower than most. You will soon hit puberty, and then you'll see things start changing."
"Yes, but…" he muttered, with yet one awkward glance at his mother. "It's always been… small, and…" And he couldn't help feeling he was left even farther behind, these days. Though he had always liked swimming, the one sport in which he was relatively good, he was beginning to hate it these days, always showering and changing to the swimming pants as quickly as he could.
"There's nothing to worry," the doctor repeated levelly. "Just you wait, a year from now all is different." Now it was his turn to glance at Sai's mother. "Actually, Fujiwara-san, there are some things I'd like to discuss with you. I think it's high time we address some topics…"
"Certainly." She smiled at Sai. "Why don't you wait outside while I have a word with the doctor, darling? You would find it boring."
Why do you think so, Sai wanted to ask her, but nodded obediently and went out. He sat down in the waiting room. Minutes ticked by, but his mother didn't come out. The assistant walked by, asked him if he wanted anything, and he declined, thanking her.
It really was taking quite long. He walked to the door, wondering what they were talking about. He didn't want to eavesdrop, really he didn't, but… it had to be about him, and in that case, he had the right to know, didn't he? He glanced around, and seeing no sign of the assistant pushed his ear against the door.
The door had quite good sound-proof, and he heard almost nothing. His mother's voice, and her tone was annoyed, but he couldn't separate the words. The doctor's low rumble, even harder to understand, but he too… were they fighting about something? He strained his ears, but in vain. He couldn't hear a word clearly. He thought his mother said something about doing the right thing, but he couldn't be sure of that either.
The door started to open. He pulled away quickly, to his backpack, and pretended to be putting something into it.
"…we can't put it off for long anymore," the doctor was saying.
"Yes, I understand." His mother's voice. He knew the tone – polite, but to the point. She was annoyed and wanted to get away from there. He followed her quietly out of the building, to the car that was waiting for them. They spent the drive home in silence.
…
Spring vacation came, and with it Sai's birthday was approaching. His parents had asked him if there was anything he'd like to get, and he did have one thing in his mind… but he figured he'd better wait a little, to be sure he'd catch his mother in a good mood and alone. A couple of days later he figured the moment was right, as his mother was arranging her bookshelf, humming to herself.
"Mother," he said, and she gave him a smiling nod, continuing to organize her books. "I was wondering, for my birthday… could I have my ears pierced?"
She paused and gave him a bewildered glance. "Pierced? What on earth are you talking about?"
For some reason he didn't quite understand, Sai felt himself blushing. "Well, I just… I've been thinking about it, and… I thought some little, very little buttons would be nice. It's just… why not?"
She was frowning – not a good sign. "Boys don't have piercings."
Sai suppressed a sigh. He hated that argument.
"Some do! And I don't want anything fancy, just…"
"No. And that's absolute."
Sai stood there a moment his mouth still half open, released then the breath. "Okay then," he muttered and left.
.
"When you're older you can just go and do it, on your own," Akari tried to console him when he told her about the matter. They were alone at the moment sitting in the wings at the park, with Akari's dog lying at their feet. Shindou was training with his soccer club.
"I know." He sighed. It's just that… everything I want to do is something I can do when I'm a little older. Or a lot older…
"Actually, I've been thinking about getting my ears pierced too. Do you think it'd look good on me?" Akari tilted her head questioningly.
"Certainly!"
"Do you think Hikaru would like them?" Akari said thoughtfully, fingering her ear.
"To be honest, I'm not sure if he'd even notice," Sai said truthfully. The girl gave a little laugh, agreeing, but didn't look at him.
A little later she did have her ears pierced. Sai noticed it right away, feeling a little pang of jealousy. Shindou noticed nothing before she very explicitly pointed them out to him. "Geez, Akari! What's the big deal?" was all the boy had to say, and Sai shook his head sadly. He couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Akari at times.
.
Piercings or no, his birthday was coming, and this year he figured he should let his mother arrange him a party. The only problem was that there were exactly three people he wanted to invite – and two of them, he feared, shouldn't be in the same room at the same time. But he couldn't really have a party and leave either of them out…
"Hikaru," he said very seriously, one beautiful day in late April, when he was hanging out in the park with his friend. "If I were to invite both you and Akira over, would you promise to behave?"
Hikaru grimaced and went on trying to juggle his ball on his knee. "Why? I mean, why would you invite both of us?"
"It's my birthday on the 5th. Mother wants to arrange a party."
"Your birthday?" Hikaru let the ball fall to the ground and stopped it with his foot, turning to Sai. "Cool! So you're gonna be 14, huh? …hey, you mean you're half a year older than me? Why didn't you say anything about your birthday last year? I need to think of a present! …seriously, what can you give to someone who's got everything?"
Sai smiled at him. "You don't need to get me anything. I'd just like to have you there – without you starting to fight with Akira."
Hikaru sighed. "Okay, as long as he doesn't start fighting with me. I promise I'll try. So when's the party? Fifth?" That happened to be a Sunday this year.
Sai nodded. "Yes. I'll let you know the exact time later."
"Game, now?" Hikaru said hopefully and grasped the ball. "Or should we just practice passing?"
"That'd be fine," Sai said. It had been a while since the last time and he thought he was probably a bit out of shape, and as it was just the two of them he didn't even have Akari's help. There wasn't really much point in playing a game, which they both knew.
He kept on thinking about his birthday party as they were passing the ball to each other. He knew his mother would be the happier the more guests he'd have, but he didn't really have other close friends than Hikaru, Akira and Akari. He considered briefly Ashiwara-san, but even though the easy-going man seemed to be friends with everyone, they weren't yet quite that close. Besides, he was so much older than the others, maybe it would be a bit weird to invite him… Though he was sure Ashiwara-san wouldn't have minded, he got along with people of all ages.
"Concentrate!" Hikaru yelled at him as the ball slipped away from him and he jogged after it.
"Sorry!" he called and kicked it back to Hikaru, perhaps a little carelessly, for now the other had to make a dive to catch it.
Then he got an idea. Maybe he should invite the school's go club? That would make for five more quests: Tsutsui, Akari's friend Kumiko, and the newer additions Natsume, Koike and Kaneko. He didn't even know them all that well, but he figured that if he invited someone from the go club, he might as well invite them all – and them being go players meant he'd be happy to get to know them. Besides, he felt a little guilty for having neglected the go club recently so much. Maybe this would make up for it, at least partially.
That was a good plan, he decided happily. Eight guests, surely that'd be enough. He just hoped they'd all come. A moment he worried how Hikaru would fare among a group of go players, but decided then there was no point to fret about it. Maybe it would be best not to do anything go-related during the party, if it just could be helped. And Akari could help to keep an eye on Hikaru, so surely all would go fine.
He missed the ball again and ran to catch it, but this time he was too slow. The ball bounced away and didn't stop before it hit a man who was lying in the sun, probably dozing off. Startled awake he sat up and grasped the ball before Sai reached him.
"I… I'm sorry, sir," Sai panted and added a little bow seeing the glare he got from the man. "The ball… I couldn't catch it, and…"
"Damn brats," the man muttered. He gave Sai a dark look. "Shouldn't you be playing with your dolls somewhere instead of running over innocent people?"
Sai blinked, and blushed then a little as he understood what he meant. "I'm a boy," he muttered quietly, feeling a bit stupid saying it, wondering if he should have just kept quiet and apologized again. "Umm, can I have the ball back…?"
The man kept on glaring at him, still holding the ball. "A girl or a faggot," he spat out then. "Big difference, neither can play."
"What's your problem!" Hikaru appeared suddenly by Sai's side, just in time to hear the comment. He dove forward and wrenched the ball for himself before the man realized what was happening. "I bet a big old fatso like you wouldn't hit the ball either!"
"You little punk!" Now the man jumped to his feet, his face red. "Don't your parents teach you any manners?!"
"Hikaru!" Sai hissed quietly, but to no avail.
"Better than yours," Hikaru snapped back. "Besides… Sai might be bad at soccer, but in something that requires brain activity he'd totally hand a dope like you your ass! Right?" He glanced at Sai, and blinked as he saw the wide-eyed, pale look on the other's face.
"Hikaru…!" Sai said faintly, staring at the man who took a step forward with a hand reached out to grasp Hikaru's arm. The boy turned and dodged, and holding tightly to the ball rushed away. It took Sai a short moment to make his legs function but then he dashed after Hikaru as fast as he could. The man took a few steps to follow them but paused then, shaking his fist and shouting a few profanities after them.
"That… was scary!" Sai panted, looking over his shoulder, as they finally stopped.
"What?" Hikaru had been looking behind as well, but laughing. "That? Give me a break, Kaga's little finger's scarier than that guy, and you had no trouble standing up against him! Why are you letting an ass like that work you up?"
Sai shrugged, a bit uncomfortable. "I don't know. I just… don't like it when people get aggressive. And Kaga… I was angry then! That helps. …besides, Hikaru… don't call people names like that! Why did you have to make him even madder?"
Hikaru just grinned. "Wasn't it funny how he changed color?"
"Hikaru!" Sai gave him a glare. "You're hopeless!"
The boy just shrugged. "So are you." He bounced the ball to Sai. "C'mon, let's go on!"
Sai hesitated, wanting to say he didn't feel like playing anymore, but decided then that he really shouldn't let this little episode bother himself so much. He'd just be more careful in the future, and stop thinking of other things while playing.
…
Akira was the first guest to arrive on the day of Sai's birthday. He had told also Akira he wouldn't need any presents, but the boy brought him an out-of-print edition of an analysis of Shuusaku's games. "I thought you might like it," Akira muttered as Sai opened the package.
"If I would!" His grin went from one ear to the other. Shuusaku was his great favorite. "Thank you!"
The bell rang, and the rest of the guests arrived all at the same time – as Hikaru was the only one of them who had ever visited Sai before, the rest of the go club had decided he could be their guide.
"You didn't exaggerate," Akari whispered in a low voice, watching around with wide eyes as they entered the building. "This place is a palace." She had insisted on at least bringing some flowers – "You don't bring flowers to a guy!" Hikaru had exclaimed, but Akari didn't listen but got a bunch purple-colored flowers, which she knew to be Sai's favorite color. Now that she offered them to him she seemed suddenly a little shy, but Sai took them happily, rolling his eyes at Hikaru, who was rolling his at the flowers.
The party started in a happy mood, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. There were enough people that it was possible to keep Hikaru and Akira away from each other. Actually, Tsutsui was pretty much glued to Akira ever since noticing him, and they were mainly staying apart, talking about go, while others played the wide variety of Sai's games. Hikaru gave them long looks at times, but said nothing.
There hardly were any complaints about food, either. Sai's mother had clearly decided that nothing would be lacking. Hikaru especially was delighted once he saw the offerings, stuffing himself so Akari wondered aloud if they would have to carry him home. Hikaru paid no attention to her chiding looks and took some more cake. Surely it was there to be eaten, he pointed out.
Later in the evening Sai decided that he'd better give up his no go decision. Tsutsui was so overly delighted of a chance to get to play game with Akira he didn't have heart to say no when they asked to borrow his go board. Most of the go club wanted to watch the game – and in truth Sai would have wanted too, but he decided he'd better keep company to Hikaru. Akari too decided to stay with them. They were playing a card game, but Sai's attention wasn't quite on it, and after a while Hikaru gave him a fry smile. "You want go to watch too, don't you?"
"Oh, it's okay, I don't…"
"Let's go then." Hikaru jumped up and without waiting for them started to head upstairs. Sai and Akari shared a look and followed him.
The game hadn't progressed far yet. Tsutsui had had the same amount of handicap stones as he usually had playing against Sai, but as Sai looked at the board he saw it wouldn't be enough; he figured Tsutsui must have been nervous in the beginning and made some mistakes. Then again, Akira was playing quite nicely, something of a teaching game. He smiled. It'd be a good game for Tsutsui, and that made him glad.
Everyone was watching the game quite intently. Akari joined the audience, and Sai sat back, giving room for his friends. Looking at their faces Sai couldn't have been happier. Perhaps this was no equal to Kaio's go club, but still these people genuinely loved go. Now, if only Hikaru…
He glanced at the boy, and saw to his surprise that Hikaru as well was following the game. He was standing a bit apart from the others, leaning against the wall with a bored expression on his face, but his eyes were fixed on the board. Sai gave a glance at his bookshelf and hid a smile with his hand.
The game ended with Akira winning by two moku. A moment they spent discussing the game, then Koike and Natsume said they should be leaving. Tsutsui followed them, still with a happy look on his face. The girls left together, and soon there were no one left but Akira and Hikaru, who for some reason hadn't followed Akari when the girl asked him if he was coming.
Akira too bowed his head at Sai a little. "I think it's time for me too to start heading home," he said, and stood up. "It's been fun, thank you for the invitation. It was great to get to play some go, too."
Hikaru gave a little laugh from where he was still leaning against the wall. "You people just can't live a day without go, can you?" He was looking at the board, shaking his head. "And that game… I thought you were supposed to be a real good player. Didn't look like that to me."
Akira shot him an annoyed glare. "And since when have you become a go expert?"
"Never said I was an expert," Hikaru said. "Does it take one to see that wasn't any great game?"
"You need a great opponent to play a great game," Akira said, smiling at Sai. "Not to mean that Tsutsui-san would have been a bad player," he added hastily. "I enjoyed the game, but of course it was quite different from the games we play…"
Hikaru glowered at him. "You really must think you're something, don't you? Maybe the games you play with Sai are great just cause he is? I'm sure I could beat you with just a bit of practice."
A little laugh escaped Akira. "Really?" He shook his head, amused. "Well, if you wish to live in dreams, don't let me…"
"So how about we play?" Hikaru stated.
Akira paused, and turned to look at him. Hikaru was staring at him with an unexpectedly serious look.
"What?"
"I said, let's play."
"You've got to be joking. You don't even know how to play!"
"And how do you know that?! Come now, afraid to play against me?"
Akira shook his head again and shot a glance at Sai, clearly asking him to do something.
"Well, if he wants to play, why don't you?" Sai said. "Perhaps a teaching…"
"No teaching games!" Hikaru put in. "A proper one!"
Sai gave him a long look. "That's maybe a little…"
"A little what?" Hikaru sat down by the board and looked up at Akira. "Will you just stand there or shall we play?"
Akira heaved out a sigh. He gave yet one look at Sai, clearly hoping for him to put a stop to this silliness, but as Sai said nothing, just watched Hikaru curiously, he sat down by the board. "Fine. But let's be fast. I want to go home."
"Fine for me!"
Akira pushed the bowl with black stones to Hikaru. "Place as many stones as you want," he said. Hikaru just glared at him, took one stone and put it on the board.
Akira made an uncharacteristic roll of his eyes at the way he was holding the stone, but said nothing. When it became clear that Hikaru wasn't going to place any more stones he grasped a white one and snapped it on the board. Hikaru played a new stone, and immediately when he released his hold of it Akira played his next move. This pattern continued into the game, making Hikaru frown at times. "All the better for me if you don't even bother to think," he muttered at one point, but Akira said nothing.
As the game proceeded, Sai grew more and more thoughtful. He gave Hikaru a long look. Of course he had noticed almost immediately that one book was missing from his shelf – the very same book Hikaru had been holding. He had wondered about that and thought that maybe he should ask about it, but decided then he'd wait and see what would happen. During these couple of months that had passed, Hikaru's behavior hadn't changed a bit. Sai had already been wondering if he'd been mistaken and somehow lost the book himself, but now…
Hikaru had been studying go. The mere thought made Sai's heart flutter. It was something he wouldn't have believed would ever happen in this reality, but the proof was there right in front of him. Of course, Hikaru was still far from being able to do anything against Akira – and not even good enough to realize that yet, but… even so.
Hikaru was studying go. That was the best birthday present he could ever get.
The game went on, and the snaps of Akira's stones lost some of their anger, though they were still annoyed. Finally he paused.
"This is ridiculous," he stated. "How long are we going to continue this?"
"What?" Hikaru looked up at him. "You want to give up? I…"
"Look here," Akira said with forced calmness. "I know what you think you're doing. Trying to capture these stones, aren't you? It won't work. Now, what you should be doing is to protect these stones – but even that would be pointless, because this whole area already belongs to me, and this cluster is dead. You lost this game long ago."
"But I…"
"I've had enough." Akira stood up. "I need to use the toilet, if you don't mind. I'll be leaving then." He walked out of the room.
Hikaru was staring at the board, face impassive. "He's right," Sai said gently. "In all the points he made. But, Hikaru…"
The boy turned to look at him, and his eyes hardened into a glare.
"That wasn't bad," Sai went on, ignoring the look. "You played much better than I thought you would! When did you start learning?" When the boy still said nothing, he went on, "How long had you played when you took my book?"
Hikaru flinched, eyes widening a tiny bit, and looked away.
Sai grinned. "Of course I knew you took it. What else could have happened to it? Do you like it?"
"It's kinda hard," Hikaru muttered.
"Of course it is. It's no beginner book. But tell me already! When did you start?"
"When I got that book," Hikaru muttered.
Sai paused. "But… that was just a couple of months ago? Do you mean that you've been playing for less than three months? Who have you been playing with?"
"No one. I've just been reading books."
Sai was very, very quiet for a long while. Then he jumped to his feet. "Akira!" he shouted and rushed out, leaving Hikaru staring after him, blinking. "Akira… there you are!" Sai exclaimed as he saw the other boy coming out of the toilet. "You don't understand!"
"Understand what?" Akira gave him a confused look.
"Hikaru! He just started playing!"
Akira frowned. "Obviously. What about…"
"You don't understand!" Sai repeated. "This… this was his first game! And he's just been reading books for a couple of months! That's all!"
A moment Akira stared at him. "I don't really get what's making you so excited," he finally said.
"But…" Sai's thrill visibly deflated a little. "His first game? It wasn't bad for that, was it?"
"Perhaps not. But I'm still not interested in playing with him more. Next week," he went on, changing the subject, "you're coming to the study group, right? Can we meet before that? On… Tuesday?"
"Yeah, sure," Sai said mournfully. "But Hikaru…"
"See you then." Akira smiled at him. "Thanks again. And sorry," he added quietly to Sai's crushed look.
They said quiet goodbyes. Sai returned slowly to his room where Hikaru was still sitting by the board, watching the stones. He sat quietly down by the board and looked levelly at his friend. "Let's go through this game," he said. "And then I'll play a teaching game with you."
"What?" Hikaru blinked at him. "I should be going too…"
"It's not that late yet. And we can give you a lift. Or… you could even stay for the night! Why don't you call home and ask?"
"But…" Hikaru was watching him with wide eyes. Sai was almost scarily determined.
"I'm going to teach you go," Sai said. "And one day Akira's going to be astonished."
…
One day soon after the birthday party when Sai came home from school his mother was waiting for him, and her expression was severe.
"I need to have a word with you," she said. Sai left his backpack in the hall and followed her, wondering, to the study, where she liked to have her Talks. He couldn't think of anything he had done. School was going fine, he had been careful not to be playing too much go, and for the life of him he couldn't guess what was the matter.
"I was cleaning your room," she said, and now he noticed she was holding something small in her hand. "And I found this. Why on earth do you have something like this?"
She opened her palm, and on it rested a shining lipstick cartridge.
"That was in the drawer," Sai blurted out in astonishment. "Did you…"
"I know it was in the drawer," his mother cut him off. "What I want to know is what it was doing there."
"It…" Sai thought quickly, an unpleasant knot getting tighter in his stomach. "I think maybe one of the girls left it and I've been meaning to take it to school and ask, but I forgot about it, and…"
"Sadao." Her tone was very flat. "None of you guests wore violet lipstick, I would have noticed that. What have I told you about lying to me?"
"I… I'm sorry, mother," he whispered, looking down. "But I… I liked it…"
"You've not used it, have you?" She sighed, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sadao, darling. Why on earth would you get something like this? Boys don't use lipstick, you know that. What would your friends say if they found out? Wouldn't they laugh at you?"
Sai thought about it. He couldn't really see Akira laughing. He might find it weird, but… he wouldn't laugh. Now, Hikaru would, a lot. And call him a weird freak. But he wouldn't mean anything by it, Sai knew that.
"So, I'll get rid of this. Promise me you won't do something like this again."
He sighed. "I promise…"
"And you're grounded for the rest of the week." Her voice was sharp again. Sai looked up, eyes widening.
"But mother...!"
"For lying to me. That's all."
He bit down yet another sigh and left. Grasping his backpack on the way he rushed to his rooms and closed the door carefully behind him – though he did want to slam it.
He wouldn't be able to go to the study group next day. And he'd been looking forward to it – they'd discuss the games in the Kisei league. And he wouldn't be able to meet with Hikaru and Akari either.
"Unfair!" he muttered, lying down on his bed. Though not really – he had lied. He should have known better than that. He really was an awful liar. But how…
He sat up, frowning. How had his mother found the lipstick? It had been buried at the very bottom of one of the drawers. She said she had been cleaning, but did she also organize his drawers?
He walked to them, opened one, and couldn't really say it would have been somehow arranged.
He did not like the feeling he got. Slowly he pushed the drawer shut. Had she been going through his things? Had she done that before? …would she do it again?
And another thought struck him: had she seen his diary? Maybe she'd read there about the lipstick and been looking for it…
He told himself he was being paranoid, but the uncomfortable feeling didn't go away. He took the diary out of the drawer. He'd have to come up with a new place where to keep it, just in case. And maybe he should be careful with what he wrote there.
Grasping the diary he walked back to his bed and lay down again.
He had all but forgotten about that lipstick. Even if it had passed his mind every now and then, when he was in the department store where he had bought it, or saw someone wearing a similar color, he had usually chosen not to think about it much, as it still made him feel quite awkward.
But losing it like this… he was surprised at how angry it made him. Especially if his mother had been snooping around through his things. He'd never have believed she'd do something like that… but how else could she ever had found it, otherwise. Cleaning, sure. And how sick he was of that same old argument, boys don't do this and boys don't do that. Some day, he thought to himself, no matter what he had promised, he would get a new one. And perhaps even use it. That thought was at the same time strangely exciting and frightening.
He fell asleep on the bed and found himself in his recurring nightmare where he was alone at home, waiting desperately for someone to come before whatever bad thing that was about to happen really would happen. He was just about to reach that point where he can't take it anymore and he'd rush out the house just to get away, when he suddenly realized something. He walked through the quiet house into the toilet and looked at himself in the mirror. He was naked, and he was a girl. So it was just a mistake, he thought, suddenly completely calm.
Sai woke up with a blink. A moment he laid there on his back staring at the ceiling. Mind, please, he thought then, annoyed, and got up.
…
Next week, when his grounding was over, he was one day visiting Hikaru after school, mainly because the boy wanted to show him a new manga series he'd found. Hikaru had asked him to come over already during the weekend, but he'd come up with a stupid lie about a family visit, too embarrassed to admit he was grounded.
Hikaru's new manga was, unsurprisingly, somewhat violent, half of it consisting of big muscled men fighting each other, but as Sai was leafing through it, jumping over the fights and reading the story, he figured it wasn't that bad. He even got intrigued – why would the king want to murder his best, obviously loyal, warrior?
"Not bad," he said to Hikaru who was sitting on the floor, watching him. "May I borrow it?"
"Sure," Hikaru said. "Oh, and…" He got onto his knees and reached into the bookshelf. "Talking about borrowing books… I guess I should give this back to you."
He offered the Meijin's go book to Sai, a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Thanks." Sai took it, smiling. "And don't worry, I don't mind you took it. Though it really wasn't the best book for you to take. If you'd asked, I'd have given you something easier."
"Yeah." Hikaru sat down again, cross-legged. "Though I did manage to figure out some of those."
"Really?" Sai looked at him, eyes widening.
Hikaru ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. "Well, okay, one."
"But even so! The problems in this book are really hard." Sai smiled at him happily. "You really do have some talent for go! I'm so happy you got interested in it. We need to play more! And you need to get a go board so that you can play out some games home. It's…" Sai paused as he saw the way Hikaru looked away, a little awkwardly. "Do you have a go board?"
"Well, just this." Still looking a little shamefaced, as if not quite wanting to admit he owned something like that, Hikaru took out a small magnetic travel board he had hidden under his bed. "I got it just because I wanted to check out some things."
"Wonderful!" Sai clapping his hands in his joy. "Now we can play! Let's play!"
"Now? Well, if you want…" He opened the board and took one small black stone into his hand. "Of course, I can't practice holding the stones properly with this…"
"That won't matter, you'll learn with time. What's important is to play; how you hold the stones is just cosmetics."
Sai paused. Cosmetics. Lipstick. The image of the cartridge on his mother's palm returned to his mind, and her words, What would your friends say if they found out? Wouldn't they laugh at you?
Hikaru gave him the white stones. "Alright, so. A teaching game, okay?" He looked up and saw the strange look on Sai's face. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I…" Sai took the stones, but his mind was still dwelling on the lipstick. "Say…" he said quietly as the other boy started the game. "Am I too… girly?"
"What?" Hikaru looked up at him, still bent over the board. He straightened slowly and gave a laugh. "Too girly? What do you mean? I mean, sure, you're the girliest guy I know, even girlier than that friend of yours, but… too girly?"
"There was that man at the park… and the other day I was walking through a cosmetics section, and the sales assistant there thought I was a girl," Sai said, not looking at him.
Hikaru laughed out loud again. "I can see that happening! Did she try to sell some mascara to you?" He grinned and punched Sai in the arm over the go board. "Hey, don't worry about it. She'd need glasses, that's all. And that guy's an idiot, you know that."
Sai smiled a little weakly. "When you saw me first time you thought I might have been a girl, too," he said, suddenly remembering that first day at his new elementary school.
Hikaru grimaced, obviously remembering it too. "Yeah, well. I was young and stupid."
"And now you're old and wise," Sai said with a laugh.
"Wiser," Hikaru grinned at him. "And hey, what does it matter, anyhow? You're just yourself, that's all. It's your move." He pointed at the little board, and Sai played a white stone.
"Thanks," Sai said quietly as they went on with the game, and Hikaru just shrugged, a little uncomfortably. Sai watched his friend as they played on. He would have wanted to tell Hikaru everything – though what was there to tell? That he had bought a lipstick? Why was it such a big deal?
…though he knew his mother was right. Boys didn't use lipstick, did they? At least he had never seen any guy with make-up – apart from some pop idols, but they didn't really count. He couldn't imagine Hikaru buying a lipstick. So what was the matter with him?
He sighed. "Sometimes it feels life were simpler if I were a girl," he muttered quietly. Hikaru paused and gave him a strange long look.
"What?"
"Oh, I just…" It was Sai's turn to give an uncomfortable shrug. "I just thought that… it'd be easier to be a boyish girl than a girly boy, you know?"
Hikaru kept on staring at him, and he blushed a little. "Well, it would!" he said. "And I didn't say I'd want to be a girl, just that it could be easier!"
"You're sometimes so weird," Hikaru finally said, looking down at the board. "Stop distracting me."
"Sorry," Sai mumbled, his cheeks feeling still a bit hot. They played on, though he would have wanted to explain his comment more, but didn't know what to say not to make it worse. Good thing no one else had been present than Hikaru, he thought gloomily. Their schoolmates wouldn't easily let him live down something like that.
"Hey," Hikaru said after a while. "Concentrate, or I'll beat you."
He gave a little laugh, relieved. At least Hikaru wasn't dwelling on it. "You won't. But you're playing really well!" he added, both for wanting to change the subject, and because it was true. "You should start playing with other people too. Why don't you come to the go club?"
"Nah, I don't…"
"Why not? It'd be good for you! Or is it just that you think Akari will laugh at you when she finds you play go?"
Hikaru shot him a glare, and he knew he had guessed right. "So what? She might, at first, but she won't anymore once you've played against her."
…
Hikaru thought of Sai's words when he finally stepped into the room where the go club met. The club was still small, but since they had won the team tournament, they had been given a small room that had used to be storage for their club room. Hikaru noted the prize cup on the shelf, carefully dusted.
Akari didn't take him seriously at first when he said he wanted to join the club. When she realized he meant it, she did laugh. "I thought you said go is stupid and not worth your time," she said with a grin.
"Maybe," Hikaru grunted. "Let's play a game," he said before Akari could go on.
"Play a game?" she grinned. "For once something in which I can beat you!"
They started the game, and Akari's grin slowly faded away. The game turned out quite long, as they both took their time to think. Finally, at the end, Akari did win, with half a moku, including komi.
"How long have you been playing?" she asked when the game was over. "Why didn't you tell me you play? Does Sai know?"
"Yeah, he does. And, I don't know, a few months."
"A few months?!" Akari exclaimed. "And I've been playing more than a year longer and you're as good as me! Not fair!"
Hikaru grinned. "What'd you expect? You're a girl, anyway."
"Hikaru!"
"Maybe I should play him next…" someone said. Hikaru turned to look and saw the short, somewhat plump girl who had also been at Sai's party. He thought her name was Kaneko or something like that.
"I'd like to play against the guys," he said with a frown, but Kaneko had already sat down opposite to him. "You can have four stones," she said with a sweet smile, and Hikaru sat back down, determined to give her a trashing. He got trashed instead.
From then on he visited the go club regularly. Akari kept on complaining about the unfairness of how fast he had learned the basics, but in truth she seemed to be happy to have him around. Sai too came around more often now, bubblingly joyful to have Hikaru there too.
A/N:
Sai's old teacher in Kyoto: I have some vague memories of having planned the "strange old man" who was Sai's teacher to be some reincarnation of Shuusaku or something, but... I think I forgot that plot point, if it even can be called a plot point. I decided to leave the mention there, even though it is now a bit random.
Piercings: I know Japanese schools don't allow piercings, but if Hikaru's blond bangs and Sai's long hair is ok, perhaps Akari can have this, too.
Sai's nightmare: I gave Sai my old nightmare, one I used to have when I was teenager. I was alone at home, nothing happened, but I was sure sometihng bad might happen any momment. Usually the dream ended when I couldn't take it anymore and rushed to the frontdoor to get out. I've no clue what that was ab about. (I had a very good home, for record.) Someone once gave me a Freudian explanation, that the house was my body, and the changes puberty brought were scary. XD I don't know.
And one question: do we know what dan Ashiwara is?